Bird Guide

Caribbean Elaenia vs Large Elaenia

Caribbean Elaenia (Elaenia martinica)

Caribbean Elaenia

Elaenia martinica

Small21 gForest

The Caribbean elaenia is 14 to 18 cm (5.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 18 to 29 g (0.63 to 1.0 oz). It is largish elaenia and has a bushy crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults of the nominate subspecies E. m. martinica have a dull olive to brownish olive crown with a white stripe in the middle of the crest. They have whitish lores and a faint whitish eyering on an otherwise mottled gray-brown face. Their upperparts are dull olive to brownish olive. Their wings are dusky with yellowish to whitish edges on the flight feathers and tips on the coverts; the latter show as two wing bars. Voice: The Caribbean elaenia's song is a "drawn-out pee-wee-reereeree". Its call is a repeated "jui-up, wit-churr".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Photo: (c) Tommy Andriollo, some rights reserved (CC BY) · CC BY 4.0
Large Elaenia (Elaenia spectabilis)

Large Elaenia

Elaenia spectabilis

Small27 gShrubland

The large elaenia is 16.5 to 18 cm (6.5 to 7.1 in) long and weighs 20 to 35 g (0.71 to 1.2 oz). It is a large elaenia with a small crest. The sexes have the same plumage. Adults have a mostly olive-brown head with a minimal or no white stripe in the middle of the crest. Their upperparts are dark grayish olive. Their wings are dusky with white tips on the coverts that show as three wing bars. Their tail is dusky. Their throat is grayish, their breast dark olive-gray, and their belly and undertail undertail coverts yellow. Voice: The large elaenia's dawn song is "a shrill, repetitious 'twee-wee-tweet' ". Its calls include "a soft 'cleeur' or 'wheeo' ", "wheer", and "cheer".

ID text from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0

Sonogram of the Large Elaenia
Recorded by Niels Krabbe · Call · Salta: Vaqueros, 12 km N Salta, Argentina · CC BY-SA 3.0
Photo: Carlos Henrique Luz Nunes de Almeida · CC BY 3.0

Where you might meet both

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Photos and recordings are credited to their authors under the licence shown. Full profiles: Caribbean Elaenia and Large Elaenia.